Thinking about trying other distro(s)

[GreyGeek]

Re: Thinking about trying other distro(s)

...
Really? Me too!
....

Wow, the compression algorithm required to put the Internet into a 1.25Mb floppy is amazing!

[DoYouKubuntu]

Re: Thinking about trying other distro(s)

Try Fedora. It uses completely different schemes for init and package management, which should be enough to satisfy your craving for something new. And it has a rather active community to rely on for help. While you're at it, install the version that uses GNOME 3 and GNOME Shell if you want a new desktop experience.

I'm attempting to install Fedora right now. When I downloaded the ISO I chose the 64-bit version, because I was THINKING about the laptop I'm typing this on, not the laptop it's going on. Now, the old laptop is actually 64-bit, but I've always stuck with 32-bit software on it. It's coming up on five years old and I just felt more comfortable using 32-bit on it. So, anyway, since I had already downloaded and burned the 64-bit version of Fedora 16, I figured I'd go ahead and install it. That was more than 40 minutes ago--and it's still cranking away. (I actually aborted it at one point because it had been stuck for so long, and there was no response to touchpad movement. So the 40 minutes is just for my second attempt.) So far I haven't seen an option to install it. When I fired up the laptop from the CD there were two choices, "Fedora 16" and "Troubleshooting" (or something similar). I chose the former. Then, after much cranking away, I eventually got a beautiful splash screen which--very--slowly painted various icons. After that it went to a white screen with black boxes at top and bottom, then finally went to where it is now, on a lovely screen with what appears to be a submarine shining a light into the ocean; there's one item on the screen, "Desktop" in the top right corner. The CD drive is cranking and blinking away, but...I don't know.

I've got to leave to pick up my car in a few minutes, so I guess I'll see what's what when I get back!

[oshunluvr]

Re: Thinking about trying other distro(s)

@dibl - Bodhi is Enlightenment built on Ubuntu 10.4 by Jeff Hoogland. I natural choice to try E17 while still having the Ubuntu base.

[SteveRiley]

Re: Thinking about trying other distro(s)

Steve - Soda hurts when it comes out the nose. You almost owed me a keyboard!

I refuse to accept responsibility for your own inability to control the output of your body's orifices

I'm attempting to install Fedora right now. When I downloaded the ISO I chose the 64-bit version, because I was THINKING about the laptop I'm typing this on, not the laptop it's going on. Now, the old laptop is actually 64-bit, but I've always stuck with 32-bit software on it. It's coming up on five years old and I just felt more comfortable using 32-bit on it. So, anyway, since I had already downloaded and burned the 64-bit version of Fedora 16, I figured I'd go ahead and install it. That was more than 40 minutes ago--and it's still cranking away. (I actually aborted it at one point because it had been stuck for so long, and there was no response to touchpad movement. So the 40 minutes is just for my second attempt.) So far I haven't seen an option to install it. When I fired up the laptop from the CD there were two choices, "Fedora 16" and "Troubleshooting" (or something similar). I chose the former. Then, after much cranking away, I eventually got a beautiful splash screen which--very--slowly painted various icons. After that it went to a white screen with black boxes at top and bottom, then finally went to where it is now, on a lovely screen with what appears to be a submarine shining a light into the ocean; there's one item on the screen, "Desktop" in the top right corner. The CD drive is cranking and blinking away, but...I don't know.

Odd... dunno what to think. I've read that Anaconda (Fedora's installer) isn't as polished as Ubiquity. Are you using the Live CD, or the regular installer? And why don't you try putting it on a USB flash drive instead, that's so much faster.

[bsniadajewski]

Re: Thinking about trying other distro(s)

I was thinking about trying Fedora myself, but I don't know if my Nvidia card will cooperate well with X. Or I could try Ubuntu (with my minimal installer) and have GS on it just to try that (GS with some extensions).

[DoYouKubuntu]

Re: Thinking about trying other distro(s)

Well, I've scratched Fedora off the list--at least for the old laptop I'm doing the experimenting on. After more than an hour and never getting to a point where I could even see--let alone choose--an 'install' option, I pulled the plug...er, CD. Meanwhile, I had downloaded and burned the 32-bit version, so I tried it. Things progressed faster, but I still never saw an option to actually install Fedora. And I had very odd behavior when attempting to select things with my pointer. They'd glow as I hovered over them, but clicking did nothing. For much of it I was able to use the keyboard--I set up and connected to my wireless network that way--but being unable to select anything by clicking wasn't acceptable. (What the hell is the keyboard method of selecting KMenu? Oh, I don't think I mentioned earlier that I downloaded the KDE version. I am no fan of GNOME, so went straight to KDE. )

I've just stuck the 64-bit CD in my other [this one] laptop, and I'm about to boot up off of it and see what happens. But this isn't the laptop I want something else on. So it's purely for giggles.

[woodsmoke]

Re: Thinking about trying other distro(s)

Hi DYK
I have absolutely no reason why, because it seems to be a great distro but I've never really liked Fedora. However, given that I gave it a heroic try when they did the Unity beta but still just couldn't get into it.

woodsmoke

[DoYouKubuntu]

Re: Thinking about trying other distro(s)

Interesting, woodsmoke. Personal taste, I guess. And isn't it wonderful that as Linux users we have so much to choose from, and so much freedom?! Don't like one distro, try another.

I'm back [obviously]. On THIS laptop (i.e., my new one), the 64-bit version booted up like a charm. I was almost immediately presented with all the stuff I never saw on my other laptop--like the 'install' icon! I poked around a little, ran a few apps, was very pleased with the look and feel and speed, but decided to yank the CD before I got any ideas about replacing Kubuntu on this laptop.

Steve, yes, I was running the live CDs. I don't have a spare USB flash drive, but really the CD was very fast on this laptop. Clearly, my old laptop has problems with Fedora 16. But that's okay, as I said above, it's great that there's such a plethora of choices.

Also--and I KNOW I said I wanted something very different from *buntu--I like KDE and want to stick with it. So I guess that kind of limits just how DIFFERENT any other distro will be, at least as far as its look goes.

[SteveRiley]

Re: Thinking about trying other distro(s)

Also--and I KNOW I said I wanted something very different from *buntu--I like KDE and want to stick with it. So I guess that kind of limits just how DIFFERENT any other distro will be, at least as far as its look goes.

"I'm just so tired of pine studs holding up plain drywall in my house. So you know what? I'm gonna construct a replacement building, this time with steel studs and interior aluminium panels! Then I'll paint all the rooms exactly the same colors as my old house."

Hehehehe

Try openSUSE. A new version just came out. From what I've read, openSUSE has been one of the more faithful KDE spins over the years. And since it's RPM/ZYpp-based, incorporates the YaST control center, and relies on systemd rather than Upstart for init, it ought to give you that fresh new steel/aluminum feeling

[DoYouKubuntu]

Re: Thinking about trying other distro(s)

Also--and I KNOW I said I wanted something very different from *buntu--I like KDE and want to stick with it. So I guess that kind of limits just how DIFFERENT any other distro will be, at least as far as its look goes.

"I'm just so tired of pine studs holding up plain drywall in my house. So you know what? I'm gonna construct a replacement building, this time with steel studs and interior aluminium panels! Then I'll paint all the rooms exactly the same colors as my old house."

Hehehehe

Try openSUSE. A new version just came out. From what I've read, openSUSE has been one of the more faithful KDE spins over the years. And since it's RPM/ZYpp-based, incorporates the YaST control center, and relies on systemd rather than Upstart for init, it ought to give you that fresh new steel/aluminum feeling

I think I'm going to have to limit my experimenting to lighter Linux versions. The old laptop clearly isn't up to the most recent releases of some distros. It ran Bodhi beautifully--and I'm thinking about just going back to that, despite my bitching that it was too *buntu-like. But it thoroughly failed with Fedora 16, AND it was running like frozen molasses when it had Kubuntu 11.04 on it. So if anyone can recommend something less resource-intensive, I'd appreciate it.

Meanwhile, I'll admit that I'm fighting back the STRONG temptation to wipe THIS laptop's / and put Fedora on it. I really liked what I saw while running the live CD last night, and it ran great. Steve, I think I may need to join your 'forgive me' thread, though for slightly different reasons.

[SteveRiley]

Re: Thinking about trying other distro(s)

So if anyone can recommend something less resource-intensive, I'd appreciate it.

If you want to keep at least one of your PCs running something *buntu, maybe revert your smaller laptop to Lucid LTS. I've tried so many different distros on my Mini; Lucid LTS used the least amount of power. But it's showing its age by now.

Meanwhile, I'll admit that I'm fighting back the STRONG temptation to wipe THIS laptop's / and put Fedora on it. I really liked what I saw while running the live CD last night, and it ran great. Steve, I think I may need to join your 'forgive me' thread, though for slightly different reasons.

Well, I'm still running GNOME 3/GNOME Shell on my Mini at the moment, but upgraded to 12.04 plus Ricotz's PPAs. I'm probably going to wipe it and return to KDE. My big Thinkpad (the always-Kubuntu one) is actually for work; when I'm not "working" (that is, sitting in my home office) I prefer to lounge on the couch with my Mini. And since it isn't running KDE right now, it's sometimes difficult to test potential answers to questions here on KFN.

All that's to say this...eventually, you'll be coming back to some form of KDE+*ubuntu, too. So I eagerly await your confession. But you have to write 10 "Hail Shuttleworths!"

[DoYouKubuntu]

Re: Thinking about trying other distro(s)

So if anyone can recommend something less resource-intensive, I'd appreciate it.

If you want to keep at least one of your PCs running something *buntu, maybe revert your smaller laptop to Lucid LTS. I've tried so many different distros on my Mini; Lucid LTS used the least amount of power. But it's showing its age by now.

The old laptop is back to K 10.10 [at the moment] and it's running great. But it's the only computer I wanted to experiment with other distros on, so I'm still looking for non-*buntus that I can try, but that aren't as resource-hungry as K 11.04, Fedora 16, etc.

Meanwhile, I'll admit that I'm fighting back the STRONG temptation to wipe THIS laptop's / and put Fedora on it. I really liked what I saw while running the live CD last night, and it ran great. Steve, I think I may need to join your 'forgive me' thread, though for slightly different reasons.

Well, I'm still running GNOME 3/GNOME Shell on my Mini at the moment, but upgraded to 12.04 plus Ricotz's PPAs. I'm probably going to wipe it and return to KDE. My big Thinkpad (the always-Kubuntu one) is actually for work; when I'm not "working" (that is, sitting in my home office) I prefer to lounge on the couch with my Mini. And since it isn't running KDE right now, it's sometimes difficult to test potential answers to questions here on KFN.

All that's to say this...eventually, you'll be coming back to some form of KDE+*ubuntu, too. So I eagerly await your confession. But you have to write 10 "Hail Shuttleworths!"

Wait! I'm still just in the THINKING about it stage, AND if I do it, it'll only be on this laptop--all the other computers in my house will still be Kubuntu. So can we hold off on those "Hail Shuttleworths" for the moment?

[GreyGeek]

Re: Thinking about trying other distro(s)

.....
Try openSUSE. A new version just came out. From what I've read, openSUSE has been one of the more faithful KDE spins over the years. And since it's RPM/ZYpp-based, incorporates the YaST control center, and relies on systemd rather than Upstart for init, it ought to give you that fresh new steel/aluminum feeling

My first distro was RH 5.0 in May of 1998. In Sept of 1998 SuSE 5.3 with KDE 1.0 beta came out. I loved SuSE. It hooked me and I purchased 22 consecutive boxed sets between then and when Novell confessed that I was a thief of MS IP and began paying royalties to MS for each sale of SELS. IIRC, SuSE 6.4 was the last version I purchased (for use at work) and it was on the shelf at BestBuy at the time. When I moved to another distro SuSE (later SUSE) was introducing the graphical version of YAST (Yet Another System Tool), and it wasn't polished enough to run. YAST has been and is a great sys admin tool. BUT, it was notoriously slow. If you made a change to your system through YAST, regardless of what kind or how simple, YAST had to run through all 20 configurations scripts that it used. If you made a change outside of YAST, IOW manually, YAST would take note and disable itself, irreversible for most users. A manually configured SuSE was a terror to manage.

Another thing I grew to dislike about SuSE was its use of RPM packages. There was a LOT of problems with "Dependency Hell", which was a pain to straighten out. I noticed that rpm packages were better about that when I was running Mandriva, then PClOS, then Mandriva again, but if one went to "RPM Bone" to download some 3rd party package, which was a common thing to do back when, there were frequent library incompatibilities which blocked attempts to install the desired package. Dependency hell is avoided in Kubuntu and other deb based systems because dpkg will halt an attempt to install a file if it notes that "application X cannot be installed because it requires application Y which requires library Z, which cannot be installed", or something like that.

Anyway, I've found that deb system so stable and reliable that I would have to be given a very persuasive reason to move to any distro which uses a different packaging system.

[GreyGeek]

Re: Thinking about trying other distro(s)

....
Lucid LTS used the least amount of power. But it's showing its age by now.
....

I've been running Lucid since Feb of 2010 and it has been the best Linux distro I have ever run in nearly 14 years of using Linux. I plan to stay with it until 12.04 goes gold next April, and will probably wipe this Sony VAIO VGN140E when I upgrade, just to start off fresh.

This laptop was a retirement gift to myself in Aug of 2008 but it is beginning to show its age. Some of the keys skip on occasions, its dvd/cd can not burn an ISO which will boot, forcing me to use USB sticks. I like USB sticks but I won't be giving them away when someone asks me for a copy of Kubuntu ... that's what CDs are for! I "almost" took the leap to an Asus transformer tablet for $329 during Black Friday, but common sense came back as I considered how useless my iPod 4 Touch has been for most things I use a computer for.

[DoYouKubuntu]

Re: Thinking about trying other distro(s)

My first distro was RH 5.0 in May of 1998.

I've mentioned before that I don't throw anything out--like 5-1/4" floppies! So I'm sitting here [in my living room] reading your post, and I glanced up at my bookshelf and snapped a pic of my Red Hat Linux Unleashed book from somewhere around the same time period you mentioned; it came with a CD, which I used to install RH at the time:

[img width=400 height=256]http://www.smartassproducts.com/images/kubuntuforums/RedHat.jpg[/img]

(Sorry for the crappy quality, but I took the pic with my phone, against the sunlight coming in, so it's pretty bad.)

Red Hat was one of my less favorite distros, but I was glad for the experience with it at the time. Took a bit of tweaking as I recall, but it worked well.